Regulatory compliance and risk management
- Advertising and marketing
- Bribery Act and compliance
- Business training
- Companies Act
- Company secretarial
- Competition
- Consumer credit regulation
- Data protection
- Directors' duties
- Entertainment licensing
- Environment
- Financial services & regulation
- Food regulation and compliance
- Fraud
- Freedom of information
- Health & Safety
- Insurance
- Marine insurance
- Product liability
- Professional negligence
- State aid
- Tax
- Trading standards
- Transport
Latest news
- Retailers beware pricing pitfalls
- Front of pack nutrition labelling: Consultation published
- FCPA compliance alone is not sufficient
- A comparison between UK Bribery Act and the FCPA
- HSE annual enforcement initiative could cost construction industry more than £1.5m
See more Press releases
RSS news feeds
Home | Services | Services for business | Regulatory compliance and risk management | Trading standards
Trading standards
Customers are the lifeblood of any business making or selling products. Most businesses aspire to keep their customers happy to ensure repeat business and future free marketing in the form of recommendations to friends and family.
However, consumer complaints about products and poor customer service, together with growing dissatisfaction with big brands, are combining with a difficult economy to cause strong headwinds for business.
Add to this a number of high profile frauds, such as the ‘Winter Wonderland’ case, recalls by big brands such as Maclaren and Toyota, increased use of consumer complaint ‘blogs’, review and consumer champion websites, programmes and publications such as Watchdog and Which?, plus investigative journalism by well high profile consumer specialists, and customer confidence is quickly shaken.
The introduction of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations in 2008 has also codified a vast range of specific consumer protection breaches which companies may commit when dealing with consumers.
Our dedicated team of legal advisers supports individuals and national retailers, through to global businesses, in the following ways:
- advising on any Trading Standards related issue, including trade descriptions, weights and measures, fabric content, product quality, false / misleading labelling, property misdescriptions and Sale of Goods Act
- advising on customer complaints under consumer protection legislation, distance selling, data protection and the Disability Discrimination Act
- advising on disputes over misleading sales practices or advertising with competitors and making / defending complaints to the main regulators as a result of the same
- providing accurate terms and conditions for sales promotions and price offers as well as in relation to free prize draws and competitions
- advising on all advertising and marketing issues from compliance to responding to ASA investigations
- dealing with interviews under caution, PACE responses in writing, prosecutions and the provision of undertakings to the OFT and Trading Standards
- composing compliant due diligence systems for underage sales
- advising on product quality issues and on fraudulent or difficult complainants
- training staff from board level to customer-facing floor staff
- dealing with product safety, withdrawal and liability issues, including managing product recalls and civil claims
- consideration of cases brought by regulators to advise on plea as well as running defence cases or preparing mitigation
You work hard to build your brand and customer confidence. Don’t let poor compliance, sharp practices, or a simple momentary lapse of concentration destroy it in one fell swoop.
For further information or urgent assistance, please speak to:
- Ron Reid (07860 404819)
- Philip Ryan (07525 733922)
- Caroline Steel
Search the site
Enter the keywords below to search:
Get in touch
Philip Ryan
Senior Associate
T: 03700 86 8915
I: +44 (0)118 965 8915
E: philip.ryan@shoosmiths.co.uk